Politics updates: Pelosi plans to give Pence 24 hours to remove Trump by 25th Amendment before impeachment
Pelosi outlines Democrats' path to impeachment vote
House Democrats will move forward with plans to remove President Donald Trump from office this week, starting with a resolution that calls on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi laid out the steps they plan to take in a letter to colleagues on Sunday.
On Monday, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., will request unanimous consent for the “Raskin Resolution,” which calls on Pence to convene the Cabinet and activate the 25th Amendment. If they don’t receive consent – which is almost guaranteed since only a single Republican would have to object – Democrats will vote on the measure on Tuesday.
"We are calling on the Vice President to respond within 24 hours" after the resolution is passed, Pelosi said. If Pence does not act before that deadline, House Democrats will introduce articles of impeachment against Trump.
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"In protecting our Constitution and our Democracy, we will act with urgency, because this President represents an imminent threat to both," Pelosi wrote. "As the days go by, the horror of the ongoing assault on our democracy perpetrated by this President is intensified and so is the immediate need for action."
Pelosi told CBS News’ "60 Minutes" on Sunday that she prefers the 25th Amendment to impeachment.
“Well, I like the 25th Amendment because it gets rid of him. He’s out of office,” she said. “But there’s strong support in the Congress for impeaching the president a second time.”
Under the 25th Amendment, if the vice president and the majority of the Cabinet declare the president unfit for office, the vice president immediately becomes the acting president.
Impeachment is a lengthier process. First, a simple majority in the House must vote in favor of charges. Then, the Senate must hold a trial to consider the charges. For the president to be removed, two-thirds of its members must vote to convict.
– Camille Caldera
More:Momentum for Trump impeachment soars as some in GOP say it's warranted after Capitol riot
‘We were trying to get answers': Md. governor says it took almost 2 hours for Pentagon to approve National Guard help amid DC riots
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Sunday it took nearly two hours for the Pentagon to provide authorization for his state to send its National Guard contingent into Washington to help protect the U.S. Capitol as it came under attack from a violent pro-Trump mob.
He said that he and District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser had been in contact and she had requested assistance but they needed the Department of Defense to sign off because of the district’s unique status as a federal district.
"Our guard mobilized and was ready, but we couldn't actually cross over the border into D.C. without the OK, and that was quite some time. We kept running it up the flagpole – our generals talking to the National Guard generals," Hogan told CNN’s "State of the Union" program.
"I can't speak as to what was going on on the other end of the line back at the Pentagon or in the White House,” Hogan added. "I was in the middle of a meeting when my chief of staff came in and said the Capitol was under attack. ... We were in contact with the mayor's office who requested assistance. We immediately sent police assistance. I immediately called up the National Guard."
Hogan said that eventually, his office got a call from Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy asking them to send to deploy their National Guard.
"We had already been mobilizing. We already had our police there. We already had our Guard mobilized and we were just waiting for that call," he said.
"All I know is that we were trying to get answers and we weren't getting answers," Hogan said.
– Caren Bohan
Amid criticism, White House lowers flag for Capitol officer fatally injured in riot
The U.S. flag at the White House and all public facilities will fly at half-staff until Jan. 13 to honor the "service and sacrifice" of U.S. Capitol Police Officers Brian Sicknick and Howard Liebengood, according to a proclamation from President Donald Trump on Sunday.
Sicknick, 42, was injured engaging with pro-Trump rioters at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday and died on Thursday. He joined the force in 2008. Liebengood, 51, who also responded to the riots on Wednesday, died on Saturday. He joined the force in 2005.
Prior to the proclamation, Trump and the White House faced criticism for not lowering the flag – a measure that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ordered take place at the Capitol on Friday.
"It’s hideous but we must acknowledge it: the WH flags are not at half staff in memory of Officer Sicknick because Trump doesn’t mourn him," CNN’s Jake Tapper wrote on Twitter.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie also condemned the delay on ABC’s "This Week."
"It is a national disgrace that the flag at the White House is not at half-staff for that Capitol Hill police officer, who gave his life in protecting one of our institutions of democracy," he said.
Vice President Mike Pence and President-elect Joe Biden both expressed sympathy to Sicknick’s family on Friday.
– Camille Caldera
US Capitol Police officer, 51, dies; cause not released
A U.S. Capitol Police officer died while off duty on Saturday, according to a statement released by the law enforcement agency responsible for protecting federal property in Washington.
Howard Liebengood, 51, had been with the department since 2005 and was assigned to the Senate Division, police said. The department's statement did not say the cause of Liebengood's death.
According to the Capitol Police union, Liebengood was "among the officers who responded to the rioting at the U.S. Capitol" on Wednesday. At least one police officer was killed amid the riot; four other people also died. Dozens of other officers were injured in the attack.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends, and colleagues," the department said in its statement. "We ask that his family, and other USCP officers’ and their families’ privacy be respected during this profoundly difficult time."
– Matthew Brown
Physician urges Congress members may have been exposed to COVID in Capitol riot
Dr. Brian P. Monahan, the attending physician for Congress, urged all elected officials and their staff to observe public health measures and get tested for the coronavirus after potentially being exposed to someone infected with COVID-19 while the Capitol was locked down during an armed incursion by pro-Trump rioters.
During the attack, "many members of the House community were in protective isolation in room located in a large committee hearing space,” Monahan noted in an email.
"The time in this room was several hours for some and briefer for others. During this time, individuals may have been exposed to another occupant with coronavirus infection," the physician wrote.
At least six Republican members of Congress refused to wear masks while in lockdown, even after Democratic colleagues pleaded with them. In one video, Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said "I’m not trying to get political here," while declining a mask offered by Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del.
"Please continue your usual daily coronavirus risk reduction measures (daily symptom inventory checklist, mask wear, and social distancing). Additionally, individuals should obtain an RT-PCR coronavirus test next week as a precaution," Monahan advised.
The coronavirus pandemic continues to aggressively spread across the United States. The nation has reported over 370,000 deaths and more than 22 million cases since the start of the pandemic.
– Matthew Brown
Poll: Majority wants Trump removed from office before inauguration
A majority of Americans now believe President Donald Trump should be removed from office before his term ends on Jan. 20, when President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn in.
A new poll published Sunday by ABC News/Ipsos found that 56% of those surveyed want Trump to be removed before Inauguration Day. A higher figure – 67% – blame the commander-in-chief for the riots in Washington this week that left 5 people dead after a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol building, overpowering police and ransacking the complex.
The chaotic incident followed Trump's "Save America Rally" in Washington, during which he told his supporters to "stop the steal" of the election he lost to Biden. Trump urged them to head to the Capitol to demonstrate against Congress certifying Biden's victory.
House Democrats are preparing Monday to introduce articles of impeachment against Trump in connection with the riot. They accuse him of having "gravely endangered the security" of the U.S. and its institutions. It will be Trump’s second impeachment.
The ABC News/Ipsos poll found that most Democrats (94%) and a majority of independents (58%) believe Trump should be removed from office; only 13% of Republicans agree. In fact, 61% of Republicans believe Trump did nothing wrong.
– Kim Hjelmgaard
Sens. Manchin, Toomey call on Trump to resign
Senators Joe Manchin, D-W.V., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., both condemned Wednesday’s armed attack on the U.S. Capitol that left five people dead and dozens injured and both senators said they believe President Donald Trump has committed impeachable offenses.
The senators believed that Trump, who urged his supporters to "never concede," "walk down to the Capitol" and "show strength," encouraged the violence and should resign.
"The president’s behavior after the election was wildly different than his behavior before, he descended into a level of madness and engaged in a level of activity that was just absolutely unthinkable," Toomey told CNN’s "State of the Union."
Toomey said Trump's incitement of the mob last week left the "possibility that there's criminal liability here," though he conceded he was not sure whether there was enough evidence for a conviction.
"But there should be accountability," he said.
Manchin condemned fellow Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., saying "I don’t know how they can live with themselves" when "people have died because of their words and actions." Both Cruz and Hawley led efforts to contest Congress’ official counting of the Electoral College vote, a longshot move to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's victory.
Toomey expressed doubt on NBC News’ "Meet the Press" that impeachment would be a feasible punishment for Trump, noting it is not clear whether it can happen "after a person has left office, which is what would have to happen here." However, the senator also hopes “that the president has disqualified himself'" from winning another election by his words and actions.
Manchin said during the Capitol attack, when congresspeople and aides were under secure lockdown, he persuaded Senators Steve Daines, R-Mont., and James Lankford, R-Okla., to abandon Cruz and not contest the result. Manchin urged Cruz and Hawley to do the same, with no success.
"I most certainly believe there is blood on their conscience, that is for sure," Manchin said. "Sooner or later, someone has got to say, 'This is not who we are.' Someone has got to speak truth to power."
– Matthew Brown
Ex-WH chief of staff Mulvaney: Capitol riot worse than other Trump controversies
Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told NBC News' "Meet the Press" TV show Sunday that he doesn't currently know "what's going on inside the Oval Office now" and "inside the president's head" following riots this week in Washington, D.C.
Mulvaney announced his resignation Thursday as President Donald Trump's special envoy to Northern Ireland after pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday. Mulvaney was Trump's former acting chief of staff.
Mulvaney said Sunday that "people took (Trump) literally" when he encouraged his supporters to "stop the steal" and to go to the U.S. Capitol building to express their dissatisfaction with the outcome of November's presidential election, won by Joe Biden.
"I never thought I'd see that," Mulvaney said.
He said the ensuing riot was a "fundamental threat to the United States" and recounted an episode during Trump's impeachment hearing last year in which he told the president, who was accused of witness tampering: "'Mr. President, this is a problem & we need to fix it.' He pushed back a little bit but then he ... he pivoted."
In a separate interview on Fox News, Mulvaney appeared to defend the administration's handling of earlier controversies that engulfed Trump's White House, arguing the storming of the Capitol was of an entirely different magnitude.
"I think everybody recognizes that what happened on Wednesday is different," Mulvaney told "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace. He said previous controversies "were policy differences, many of them were stylistic. Wednesday was existential."
Mulvaney dodged a question on whether he supported the use of the 25th Amendment, used to get rid of an incapacitated or unfit president, to remove Trump from office.
"I think the 25th Amendment (is) a clumsy tool. We've never used it under these circumstances. We typically use it whenever a president goes through a medical procedure," he said.
– Kim Hjelmgaard
Kellyanne Conway condemns armed riot at US Capitol
Former Senior White House Assistant Kellyanne Conway condemned the armed invasion of the US Capitol on Wednesday by pro-Trump rioters.
"Don't avert your eyes & don't excuse this," Conway said on Twitter of a report compiling haunting footage of the attacks. "The more we see & learn, the worse it is."
"The events were outrageous and inexcusable. Democracy relies on dissent, not destruction. In this nation, differences of opinions are resolved by showing up at the ballot box, not by storming the barricade," Conway said in a statement Thursday.
Conway managed President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and was a senior White House adviser when Trump took office, sticking by the president through almost the entire tumult of his first term. Conway left the Trump administration in August 2020 after a public feud with her daughter in the media.
The former aide’s comments come as the Trump administration is roiling in its last days in office. Former and current aides have expressed worry about their involvement in the administration, while others have also condemned the Capitol attack or resigned from their posts.
Conway has continued to express support for the president, despite the Capitol attack.
"The thugs from yesterday are responsible for their own actions," Conway said. "They don't represent the millions of Trump voters, or the massive 'MAGA' movement; they insult them."
– Matthew Brown
Pence to attend Biden's inauguration
Vice President Mike Pence will attend the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, even as President Donald Trump intends to skip it.
The decision came a day after Trump announced he would decline to watch his successor sworn-in, breaking with more than 150 years of tradition. A source familiar with the decision speaking on the condition of anonymity confirmed Pence's expected attendance.
Pence is facing considerable blowback from some Trump supporters – and significant praise from others – for defying the president’s demand that he somehow reject the results of the election as Congress met Wednesday to count Electoral College votes and formalized Biden’s win. Despite Trump’s protestations, Pence noted he had no power to reject the votes.
Biden dismissed Trump’s decision not to attend the inauguration, telling reporters on Friday that it was "one of the few things he and I ever agreed on." But of Pence, Biden said that he was "welcome to come" and that he’d “be honored to have him there."
– John Fritze
